The Polish Nauta Shipyard has today cut the first steel for the Swedish Navy’s SIGINT ship, officially beginning the production phase of the vessel. The ceremony was also attended by officials from Saab, the Swedish defence group, which awarded the ship construction contract to the Nauta Shipyard, a part of the Polish Armaments Group (PGZ), in 2017.

Saab CGI of the future SIGINT vessel.

This important milestone is fully in line with the project schedule for the special purpose ship, which is to be built in Poland and fitted out in Sweden for delivery to the Swedish Navy. The first steel cutting takes place following intense cooperation between Saab and the Nauta Shipyard, supported by the MMC ship design and marine consulting company. The entire construction process has been positively appraised by the Swedish Defence Material Administration (FMV), which signed a contract with Saab for the design, construction and delivery of the Swedish SIGINT vessel. While the ship will be constructed, launched and tested in Poland, it will sail to Saab’s shipyard in Karlskrona for additional fitting and installation.

“The steel cutting ceremony marks the successful completion of the ship design stage and the beginning of production work. This contract for a special purpose ship, a key asset in any Naval portfolio, is very important from the point of view of the end user, the Swedish Navy and requires special handling from the shipyard doing the work. We remain in daily contact with Nauta and we are pleased the work is progressing according to plan,” says Jyrki Kujansuu, Vice President, Poland and Baltic States at Saab.

“We were originally chosen by Saab as a trusted partner in shipbuilding after a long selection process. Similar to our Swedish partner we are happy to have performed the first steel cutting for the ship. We can now progress on to full-scale production,” explains Adam Potrykus, Vice-president of The Board of the Nauta Shipyard.

The contract for the construction of the special purpose ship is the result of a MoU signed between Saab and the Polish Armaments Group (PGZ) in 2016. Saab constantly seeks to expand its working relationship with Polish industry, and has, for example, tasked the Base Group with construction of components for Swedish A26 submarines.